Because I came down with a nasty cold at the end of my stay in Cotacachi, Ecuador last summer, I never did post about my final few weeks there. And while I'm back in Vermont I'm busier because of seeing my Senior Companion clients, so I didn't post during the autumn. So now that I'm back in Mexico and have plenty of time, here's an update on my time in Cotacachi - and I promise to post about my return to Mexico soon!
On August 26th, my landlady, Rosa Elena, cooked me a culinary highlight of my stay: charcoal-grilled guinea pig (cuy) - an Andean specialty. Cuy is traditional for fiestas here; for a wedding, Rosita's family cooked 100 of them! She prepared her home-raised guinea pig the day before, spicing it with coriander and lots of garlic.
 |
| Roasa and her mother grilling the guinea pigs (only one was for me) over the coals |
 |
| Mote (corn kernels) boiling over the fire |
The guinea pig was served with the mote, tomatoes, boiled potatoes and a delicious
sauce made with ground squash seeds. It was a tasty treat, enjoyed with a glass of white wine.
 |
| Ready to eat... |
I ate it with my fingers, as I eat chicken - which, you will not be surprised to hear, it tasted a lot like. Since Rosa Elena suggested it was a delicacy, I ate and enjoyed its walnut-sized brain, which was creamy and tasted like mild liver. Muy rico!
On August 28th I did another hike around Cuicocha (Guinea Pig Lake) with friends Dennis and Elin. We took a taxi up to Cuicocha and walked the up-and-down
trail around the lake - with amazing views.
 |
| Wind stirring the surface of the lake |
 |
| Solar calendar site above the lake |
 |
| Lake peninsula |
As usual, we saw great views, flowers and interesting plants along the trail.
 |
| Colorful trumpets |
 |
| Me in front of huge flowering plant |
 |
| Orchid |
 |
| Lower slope of Mount Cotacachi; the peak was in the clouds. |
After hiking around the lake we then walked back down to Cotacachi for a total of about 8 hours of hiking. A wonderful trek - and we were exhausted!
As my time in Cotacachi (for this stint) was coming to an end, I realized that I hadn't posted photos of the town itself, so I took a few representative pics:
 |
| The main plaza with La Matriz, the main church (each of the many parishes has its own smaller church). |
 |
| Band marching past one of the older buildings on the main plaza. |
 |
| La Matriz |
 |
| Calle
19 de Agosto, also known as Leather Street, lined with dozens of shops
selling a wide variety of the town's specialty. Last trip I bought a
great hooded leather jacket; this time, just a wallet. As you can see,
for the most part the town's architecture is nothing to write home
about..... |
 |
| .... but there are some lovely buildings, too. |
 |
| Calle
Suarez has several ex-pat oriented businesses like Serendipity
Restaurant, Trebol Bar (with good pizza) and Prana store (with great
coffee, chocolate and wines). |
 |
| Calle Bolvar, with shaded benches for resting - and some of the ubiquitous graffiti. |
On the morning of August 31st - as on many mornings - there was lots of smoke blowing by my casita:
People here burn off their fields -
and with the strong winds, things sometimes get out of control. My friend Martica's lovely home had a wall of fire approaching it at one point. When she called the fire department, they said they were sorry, but both firetrucks were busy elsewhere! Luckily the villagers came running and got the fire under control in time.
But also on the morning of August 31st, when I was feeling a bit down with that nasty cold I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this lovely yellow grosbeak stopped by to cheer me up:
And on September 2nd, as I was walking back from buying brownies for a farewell dinner with friends, I spotted this beauty on the sidewalk:
 |
| West Coast Lady butterfly |
On September 3rd it was time to fly back to the States. From my seat on the plane, I could see the gray ash cloud from the erupting Cotapaxi volcano. Luckily the winds
generally blow away from the airport, so we had no problem taking off. (And lately the activity has died down)
So after a night in Toronto I was back in Vermont on the 4th, ready to enjoy what turned out to be the most spectacular fall foliage season I can remember:
 |
| Autumn view from the little house in Vermont |
No comments:
Post a Comment